


Let's Go Steal a Baby Broker

by debbystitches



Series: Eliot Spencer's Heart [4]
Category: Leverage
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:26:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24806170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/debbystitches/pseuds/debbystitches
Summary: We start with a hen party and a fun game
Relationships: Alec Hardison/Parker, Eliot Spencer/Original Character, Sophie Devereaux/Nathan Ford
Series: Eliot Spencer's Heart [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1745050
Comments: 8
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I mention The Tetrarch a lot because she created Nate and Sophie's little girl. She will always get credit in my stories about Eliot. 
> 
> The technology I have listed here exists. If it exists in the forms I use then great but the way I use it is purely my fantasy or inspired by other fictional works. I'll credit the works when I find the book title and the episode. 
> 
> One more thing, I've mentioned Babe's real name before. Didyna meaning one who is desired and we can all say we desire to be the one that Eliot desires. Well growing up you know kids can be cruel so didya comes along along with dd and didi, dyedie or diaper. Those are not so desired. I could have called her Peaches as a nickname because along with Babe those were my childhood nicknames. But I am a Debby for Debra, the bee. I'm just as busy as one too most of the time. 
> 
> Thank you to Lori Wilde's "Love at First Sight" for the lifesaver relay idea.

Babe didn’t know what her cousins had planned for her hen night, but she knew she didn’t think it would be good. They had cleared out the brew pub for a private party and were gathered at the center tables with Parker, Sophie and Tara. Toasts and good food were shared. The Leverage women had a great time watching Babe blush. Her cousins had the dirt on her. “I remember when we were about 6 or 7 years old, Uncle Danny had put me and Babe on the back of a horse bare back. I was scared to death but Didya just kept ahold of me and we trotted right along. She was whispering in my ear all the things I was feeling then how the horse was reacting. When I stopped feeling those things, the horse calmed too, and the ride became more enjoyable. Uncle Danny got us down and praised me for calming myself then sent us into the house. He never told Didya anything. If I had been her, I would have cried but she took her sassy butt to the house and made us grilled cheese sandwiches with fresh sugary tea. She became my hero at that moment because I knew she was not supposed to use the stove. Here’s to my cousin Didyna better known as didya to most of us and Babe to the rest of us.” “Cheers!” came from the gaggle of women. There were 13 altogether. Felicia called them the coven for the rest of the night, but Parker, Sophie and Tara knew that really, they had been invited into the arms of the Tulsa Ten. That’s how they referred to them the rest of the night. Babe/Didyna/didya was Tulsa One or T1 and the other numbers went through the other women gaining in age. They were surprised to see a group of 5 cousins so close in age, but Babe was one out of 21 cousins. Smack dab in the middle. 

As the night progressed, they learned that Babe would mysteriously disappear every other weekend in high school and come back with the best stories about necking, skinny dipping, riding bareback in the rain or at night. She spent nights in the hay loft with some boy they never met. The Portland contingent knew who that mysterious boy was. They loved the glimpses into Eliot’s early life. The times when he seemed the most carefree. Then there was a knock on the front door of the brew pub. When a swat team leader entered the door Babe and her new friends panicked for a few seconds but 9 of the Tulsa ten squealed with delight. Music in the background was turned up and each man removed part of his uniform. There were 10 men in the unit, and they gyrated and grooved all over asking for their quarry. When her cousins betrayed her, the collection of dancers raised Babe over their head and sat her on the bar. Each one took their turn handling her like she was a prop in their routine the music changed with each man. Babe smiled through it all but most of the time her smile was hidden by her hands and her cheeks were a glorious shade of pink. In the end, she noticed that the number of men had changed. There were 13 men all in ski masks. In the end, the last dancer took her off the bar and with his dancing blue eyes lead her to a booth. On the table of all the other booths there was a dancer except for three. Those booths had a Portland resident and her man making out but not kissing. While Tara and nine of the Tulsa Ten watched their own private dancer. 

When the oldest cousin stopped the music, Babe was happy that the night was coming to an end. Instead of thanking the dancers and revealing their faces, Cousin Lula announced a life saver relay. “The rules are simple each of us takes a toothpick and using only that toothpick passes this life saver over to another person. Your hands have to be behind your back at all times. If you drop the life saver you owe all the others that completed the task a drink. If you move your hands you owe all the ones before you a drink and if you’re the last one to receive the lifesaver then you have to kiss the person that passed it to you. Think about this carefully, because you don’t want to be kissing a member of your squad or your cousin at the end of this dance. If you are approached to take the life saver and you want to refuse you can, but you can only use this pass once. So, let’s get started. Lula placed her toothpick in her mouth and put the life saver on it. She managed to pass the candy to the dancer sitting on the barstool next to her who passed it to Parker who passed it to Hardison. The life saver made it past Tara, and Sophie and their men. When it came to the last three cousins, Babe included, one of the gals zeroed in on Eliot instead of the dancer that was nearest. Eliot panicked. He waved her off but knew he wouldn’t have that option if the other cousin did the same. The song was winding down and when one dancer passed off to another dancer Eliot knew he was in trouble. Babe’s youngest cousin was circling Eliot waiting out the song. She obviously thought he was a dancer because she touched his body with no shyness. Finally, the moment came when she miscalculated the song and passed the candy to him. Her smile grew larger when she heard the music stop but after only 2 beats it started again, and Eliot made his move on Babe. Once again, his eyes were dancing, and heat darkened the blue to pools of desire. He took his cue from Babe who allowed him to dance her to the center of the room. When he dipped her, he dropped the life saver from his toothpick to hers as the final scream of the guitar stopped. At that moment, the men all of them removed their ski masks. Eliot took the time to dip his wife once more and kiss her lips softly. 

Standing up and looking around, the couple saw their friends kissing their loved ones and a couple of dancers getting a little lip action too. Eventually each of the dancers came up to kiss the bride and shake hands with Eliot before leaving. They kissed the other women they knew or got acquainted with that night as well then left. The squad leader said, “Car’s here” before he ducked out the door. At that moment, the cousins crowded Babe with kisses and well wishes. They took turns trying to land kisses on Eliot’s lips and feel him up with full body hugs. Eliot blushed a deeper shade of red as the women progressed. When the last one grabbed him, he made to really pull away when he realized it was Babe out of the crack in his eye lid. “you will never live this down.” She told him before kissing him herself. Tara promised to make sure the Tulsa cousins made it to the hotel in one piece then said goodnight. As she left Babe saw her take the hand of one of the dancers, kiss his lips then let him hand her into the limo. “What do you want to bet that van there is going to follow that limo to the hotel.” Nate asked standing at the door. “I guarantee it.” Sophie said. “Those guys are booked into the same hotel.” 

Nate looked at his wife and smiled a knowing grin. He took his wife’s hand, “Shall we retire upstairs my dear?” Sophie agreed gladly. Parker and Hardison turned to say good night before walking out the front door. Babe and Eliot were left alone in the eatery. Eliot locked the front door, led his wife down the hallway so he could shut out the lights. He said goodnight to the clean up crew in the kitchen before going out the back door with his wife. Eliot waited for Babe to slip on her riding leathers then drop her skirt into the backpack she had with her. Her heels were traded for boots and then she tucked her long honey colored hair behind her ears to put on her helmet. She waited for Eliot to mount the motorcycle before sliding in behind him with the backpack on. She snuggled up tight against his back and tucked her hands in his pockets. Eliot smiled as he started the cycle and they glided out of the alley. Once on the street he opened the bike up to scream through the night. He was ready to get home. For once they had the house to themselves and Eliot was looking forward to making love with his wife anywhere, he pleased in their three-story Craftsman style house. 

Besides the rumble of the cycle against his crotch he could feel Babe’s chest rumbling against his back. She was humming or singing. He knew music came out of her when she wasn’t thinking about it. ‘Lizbeth Grace had picked up the habit. Babe must be very happy because the hum against his back was strong and the rhythm was lively. As they pulled into the drive of their house Eliot triggered the garage door. He killed the motor and let Babe off before rolling the bike into the bay beside her trike. He shut the garage door as he watched his wife climb the three steps into the house. She punched in the code to get the door to open then turned to smile at Eliot. As she turned, Eliot saw a white circle on the side of her helmet and then he noticed some unusual texture to her backpack. Taking the helmet, he saw that there were cracks radiating from a small dent in the outer covering. The paint was missing. “Love let me see your backpack?” he asked as they passed the kitchen island.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to cgarcia555 for prompting me to get back to Babe and Eliot's investigation. Once again I used The Tetrarch's details in my story. She is never far away from my thoughts when I write about the Team.

He laid the pack out on the granite and looked it over. There were 6 holes in the front of the bag. Unzipping the small pockets, he noticed the holes went through them. When he reached the main pocket he realized the holes didn’t go through but as he removed Babe’s high heels, he saw that the impact of what had to be bullets had broken both heels and dented the case she kept her hand gun in. “Look, someone took shots at us while we were riding home.” Eliot went into protection mode then. He hit a button on his phone then one on the wall. Steel shutters dropped over all the windows inside and out. The outer doors and garage bay doors had their own outer shutters. Eliot led Babe to the panic room and insisted she go in while he checked the house. When she shut the door, she put in an earpiece to let her talk to Eliot. She sat at a bank of monitors. Three showed levels of the house. Others showed the outbuildings and camera feeds. “Nothing is showing on IR. No motion but you anywhere. The gps on the kids show they are all at the office building. Parker and Hardison show they are on their way here.” “Okay Love let’s just wait until they arrive.” 

Babe sat in the concrete bunker below their house waiting and watching. Eliot wouldn’t want her above ground right now. She appreciated his careful patrol of the grounds outside the house. She needed to talk to Hardison, about the tag reading cameras she wanted installed around her house. Eliot was at the top of the driveway when their friends arrived. They entered the house just as Babe emerged from the safe room. “Hello you two.” She said as she pushed a button on the coffee maker. The water began pouring from the machine with precision. Parker hugged her then pulled back. “Eliot, there’s something sharp in Babe’s jacket.” Eliot helped Babe remove the leather and Kevlar item. He ran his hand down the arm of it with the same care as when he ran his hand down Babe’s bare arm. Near the shoulder seam was the fragment of a bullet wedged in the leather and caught in the body armor. “Well love, from now on you need to drive the truck.” He said calmly but everyone could see the rage in his eyes. “And keep the collar up on your jackets.” Parker added. Hardison smiled, “Rock the popped collar like you were a teenager again.” He teased

Eliot left Babe and Hardison ordering the new cameras in her office after 2 hours of planning. Parker had wandered out to the garage attached to the pool house. Eliot thought of the ways he would have to enhance security around his wife, their children and grandchildren. He thought harder about who could be targeting him when his phone chimed from a text message. 

Leave the investigation in Utah alone or there will motherless children on your hands. 

The blood drained from his hands, and he dropped the phone. Nimble fingered Parker caught it before the phone shattered on the tile in the kitchen. Hiding his fear and embarrassment Eliot started pulling onion, celery and carrots out of the pantry and refrigerator. His culinary knife skills centered his mind easier than any work out could. Parker took her usual place when Eliot was cooking. She sat on the end of the island with her legs crossed. Watching Eliot cook centered her as well when she couldn’t get to ropes. “Did you bring Benny up to the house?” Eliot finally asked. “yep” was all she answered. Benny was a well armored copy of Bernadette the Ute/Caravan the Leverage Team had left at Wapanjara. Parker had one similar for the times she needed to drive. Eliot had his Charger fortified the same way along with Nate’s Audi and the newest version of Hardison’s van, Lucille 7. “She hates that truck.” Parker spoke quietly as Eliot’s chopping stopped. “I know sis, but it’s the only way I can be sure she safe when I’m not home.” “There’s always Pumpkin.” Eliot shook his head. Babe had refused to let the team fortify her old truck above tinting the windows. “This is a good time to bring it up again.” Parker insisted. Eliot gave her the look she knew so well. “I should just have her drive the car.” But the face that followed his statement said he would rather shave his head.

Just before dawn the two couples were finally settling at the table with jambalaya and a fresh salad. “Breakfast of champions” Babe said as she kissed Eliot. The smile he gave her was one many women wanted to see from him or their own man. The four ate quietly keeping their own council until Parker said, “Babe we should really armor Pumpkin since you don’t like driving Benny.” Hardison hissed at his lover, “Baaby. We weren’t going to bring that up again since Nana’s house.” “It has to be said.” “What needs to be said,” Hardison argued, “is that Eliot knows what is going on.” Once again Hardison was going against Eliot’s wishes. The stoic man shot his best friend a deadly look, then looked down at his plate. Babe asked, “He knows what brother man?” Eliot shook his head but Hardison continued. “Tonight has to do with Utah.” 

Long minutes stretched out as Babe stared at Eliot. She started shaking in anger and fear. Eliot would not meet her eyes, he didn’t really look at her. It hurt Babe more that he was avoiding looking at her than it would have to have been shot. “Fine.” She finally said then left the room. Instead of going to the workroom in the house as she usually did she moved through the garage to a wood working room. She flicked out the butterfly knife she carried in her biker boots and sat on the stool near a pile of veneers. She flipped through a test book to find the wood she wanted then pulled the corresponding sheet for the thin sheet. She pulled out a second sheet as well and clamped them together. She cut out designs from both sheets until her knife was dull. She moved to an X-acto knife to finish the items she wanted to get from both sheets. Parker sneaks in to sit across the table from her. “He doesn’t mean to shut you out.” She says. “Are you channeling Sophie tonight Parker?” Babe asks. “She would say the same thing but it’s Eliot.” Babe knew. Babe knew better than the Leverage team would ever know. 

Babe took Parker’s arm and the two walked back into the house to say goodbye. Eliot was using a contrite whisper with Hardison then hugged Parker before taking his place at Babe’s side. He touched her back gently in apology. Parker saw the movement and smiled at her friends. Hardison took Parker’s hand and they dashed quickly to Lucille 7. On the roof of the home 1000 yards away the two men assigned to eliminate the threat from the Spencers, groaned in disappointment. As day broke over their shoulders, they packed up and slid from the slate tiled roof. They retired to their perspective bedrooms and sleep through the day. Eliot and Babe across the street went through their days as well. Babe showered, sorted laundry and arranged for pick up of their grandchildren with ‘Lizbeth, by Nate and Sophie instead of her. By early afternoon fatigue was wearing on both of them. 

Babe went to the office adjacent to Eliot’s gym. She leaned in the doorway. “Honey…” She began to say when Eliot stopped her. “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. I’m the grunting, sullen fool that has always worked the hard stuff on my own. I’m the hitter, the protector.” Standing he crossed the rug to take her in his arms. “Babe, I know you are too. I promise I won’t shut you out again.” He kissed her gently. “Come on, we need sleep. 90 minute will do us both good.” 


	3. haunted memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning if you have trouble with abuse don't read this chapter.

Babe woke up screaming. Eliot wasn’t in the bed. She sat in the bed shivering, crying and still feeling every moment of the dream. The flash back. She had been in a dirty room on a dirtier mattress waiting out the contractions. She saw the doctor standing outside the room. “I know she needs to be punished but right now, I have to get those babies out of her and that can’t happen if she’s covered in filth.” Her saving grace stomped away. The two matrons pulled her to the shower. Shoved her under the cold water and scrubbed every inch of her with rough sponges. They cussed, shouted, and berated Babe every time a contraction stole her ability to stand up. They pulled her across the driveway to the hospital wing of the maternity home. They put her into the hands of the delivery nurses and warned them to cuff her to the bed.

Babe sweated, cried and cramped for 16 hours before the doctor insisted on delivering the twins by cesarean. Babe was in a dream state talking to Eliot about their babies when the deliveries were made. One boy and one girl. The doctor was very satisfied. He insisted Babe nurse her babies and for the next three days she did so. She began to believe she was being allowed to keep her twins. The day the nurse rolled in a breast pump instead of the babies, Babe’s heart broke. The matrons were back, and they strapped her to the bed used the pump on her massaging her breasts to gather every drop she could produce. Babe screamed, thrashed, and pulled out stitches during the pumping sessions that carried on for another week. If she pumped her milk calmly and without help, she was permitted to get out of the bed to use the restroom. If she had to be strapped down, they put in a catheter for the next 24 hours. 

At the end of a week her milk had dried up so she was moved to a psychiatric wing of a children’s hospital. She was kept in the hospital for the next 30 days. They drugged her and treated her delusions of having gone through childbirth. No one believed her despite baring her incision. Babe had made the cut herself according to the doctors. No one would take her word for it. By the end of the month she had her resolve set. She was moved from the hospital to a continued care facility in the mountains of West Virginia. 

Babe’s flashbacks always ended there when the doctor did a full physical exam, determined she had given birth and was treated for toxic shock on top of it. She dreamt of working on cars in the garage with the two old men who kept the grounds. She remembered learning all kinds of gardening and house plant care. She cooked with the chef and the day she graduated from the program the retiring maintenance head gave her the keys to his old truck and a map. He rode with her to South Carolina then sent her home to Oklahoma with tuition for college and a plan for her future. Mr. Young and Mr. Jackson called to check on her twice a month. If she had problems, they would help her figure them out and letters always included crisp $100 bills.

Eliot heard Babe pull the box down from a high shelf in her work room closet. He knew she had experienced a flash back and was working her way back to him again. In the box she would pull out a letter or two with pictures or other trinkets and remember the people who had healed Babe while Eliot was out of reach. Eliot was torn. He needed to eliminate the threat to his family, but he also wanted answers. More answers than Babe could give him. His redneck woman was still haunted. Eliot couldn’t have that, not when it had hurt her and his children so much. Eliot picked up the phone and dialed Nate.


	4. Birthday

Babe heard Eliot shut his office door. She took the box from the top shelf, as she often did when her flashbacks woke her, she placed her box on the marble worktop of her own office. She would either sit on the marble top as well or melt into the leather knitting chair in the closest corner. Today she needed the coolness of the marble. She opened the embellished cigar box. She rubbed the ribbon from the top of the box between her fingers while looking at the faded picture on the top of the stack. Her hands mindlessly pulled trinkets from around the stack before she started on the pictures themselves. She lined the trinkets up in a row then set a few pictures in line with each item. Her tears fell looking at the extremely tall old man with long arms had one arm around a much younger Babe. His shock of white hair stood straight up. His name was Tortelli Young. He was nearly 90 in Babe’s collection of photos. She knew every emotion of the pictures. Another with a stumpy man nearly as round as he was tall with no hair on his head was Mark Jackson. His family of mixed-race children often joined Babe and Mr. Jackson in the pictures. In the final picture she removed from the box, she is there, breast feeding a blue bundled baby with the pink bundled baby in her lap. 

Babe’s tears fell as she thought over everything before she slowly packed the box. She was just touching the pieces of wood on the outside of the box, each piece hand carved by the little pen knife which was secreted in a slot in the box. Tramp Art, was part of her therapy in West Virginia. In her mind she planned a quilt top. A brass bed with a crazy quilt, a tramp art box open with a ribbon and a watch chain hanging over the side, a lazy cat sprawled on one corner with a large dog on the braided rug on the floor. She could see her antique dresser, with the oval mirror. Around the edge would be prints of the pictures. Her musings made her hum. Eliot heard her humming when he opened his office door. He padded barefoot down the hall to her door. She still sat cross legged on the marble top with a sketch pad on her lap. Her hair had fallen forward blocking his view of her face but from her posture he knew he was in no danger if he approached her. 

It killed Eliot to have to let her emerge from the night terrors and flashbacks. He always wanted to grab her, wrap her up tight in his arms and soothe her fears. Holding her tight or even touching her would make things so much worse. She would fight, bite and scream for hours while withdrawing into a grungy corner of a converted garage in Utah within her own head. He had watched her suffer daily in the first weeks they had been reunited. Then he would see her medications take over and the moments would fade from her face. He would soothe her then when the medication kept her still. He would sing to her, stroke her hair and read love poems in Cherokee and Choctaw to her. As she gained her feet, she would tell him about her dreams which started as nightmares and then slid into peace. It had been months since the last episode. Eliot moved toward her and she laid her pencil beside her. She let him sweep the hair from her face and whisper, “hello darlin’” with the often-said phrase would sometimes cause her to start to hum the song as she leaned in to kiss him. This time not only did she give him the kiss, she handed him the picture of her and the twins. 

Babe watched him slowly drop into the knitting chair. He studied her young, but full face. He looked at the fading colors and whispered each child’s name as he ran a finger over their small bundle. He memorized the background of the room. He could see a small part of a leather cuff on the bed rail behind her. His breathing changed at that reminder of her suffering. As she slid off the worktable, she ran her fingers through Eliot’s long hair. He pulled her into his lap then ran his hand up her back under her shirt. “Tell me about this day?” he asked. 

Babe told him of the day she had the babies ripped from her. Being strapped down and the humiliations after the babies were gone. She held onto the hope that she would be allowed to bring them home instead of losing them. In her exhaustion she would truly hallucinate that she was home in her bedroom with her babies. She would talk to people who were not there. She trudged through mania because she was so tired. When the doctor saw her in that condition, he ordered an injection of lithium to bring her back to reality. Babe woke up with her breasts bound to reduce her milk production and her ankle cuff moved to the other leg. She had been asleep 24 hours. The morning she was told she could not see her babies the aide left her food tray on the table beside her. Babe found a polaroid picture secreted under the napkins. She was there in the first day of her motherhood holding her boy. 

“Each day I would ask about the babies. They would give me a shot to wake me up in the morning and another to put me to bed each night. After two weeks they finally took the cuff off my ankle and told me my babies were gone. My heart broke. I was promised I would be going home on the weekend but by the time I was supposed to catch the bus, I was very sick. I had an infected mammary duct, so they sent me to the hospital two towns over and left me there. The four days I was in the hospital, I repaired clothes while trying to clear the infected breast. Traditionally the mother would feed the baby a little extra time to clear the duct, but I didn’t have a baby to feed. I cried while I slept it hurt so much. But in the days I was there I had earned a little money by working on the clothes. A dry cleaner offered me a job and a place to stay. I was there for a few months until I read about a community in Tennessee that was held a quilt camp once a month and was looking for teachers specializing in yarn and thread but not quilting. I applied with a reference from the dry cleaner and I was on my way to Tennessee in three weeks. The people there healed my heart. I didn’t go home until Grandma got sick.” Babe choked up then and couldn’t stop crying again. 

Eliot soothed her as her head rested under his chin. He wasn’t able to say anything for a long time. He rocked her running his fingers through her hair. He was mad, he wanted to cry as much as Babe had. His mind went back to the message. It was time to get some help. Something had to be done. 


	5. 5

After 90 minutes of sleep in the chair with Babe in his arms, Eliot gathered all he knew about the twins and Babe’s experiences in Utah. He loaded it all on a USB drive then kissed his wife goodbye. She had her playlist playing Christian Kane and Chris Young as loud as she could. She was working on feathers to put into a quilt. He loved the quilt she had made for their bed. He knew this one was going to be just as beautiful. It would fetch a good price if she decided to sell it, or make more if she decided to donate it for auction. 

At the Leverage International office, he tossed the drive to Hardison. “Would you run these for me? I want everything you can find on the adoption agency, the maternity home and the doctor that ran it. The names of the twins listed on there and everything about their adopted family.” Alec said, “Okay brother.” He put his head down and went to work. Eliot needed to cook. 

He needed to cook for a lot of people, so he went down stairs to the brew pub. He surveyed what he had available. He saw a box of leg quarters the chef usually used for stock. These were fresh delivered two day before and had been overlooked when the boiling began that day. Eliot pulled teriyaki sauce, red pepper flakes, ginger and other spices together for a marinade. He pulled out puff pastry, sausage, brie, onions and peppers to create a baked rough pie. After putting 6 of those pies in the oven, he went back to the chicken. They went into as well. When it was time to pull everything out he took the chicken out of the sauce, laid rice noodles into the sauce, put the chicken back over it and put it back in the oven. He broke out the chocolate and peanut butter for brownies while he waited for his chicken to be done. He placed slices of the savory pie, the chicken and noodles in single serving boxes for the crew, one to take home to Babe and when the brownies were done. he sent the rest to the fire station down the block.

After that, he sat in the dining room of the pub, he sat looking at the menu and thinking of what he could use to freshen up the menu. He used his palate to pair a few new beers with what he made today. He placed the recipes into the data base and the point of order system before sitting with the chef and brigade talking the new items over. They were intrigued by the baked goods. They thanked Eliot for the time he gave them. Scheduling changes and hiring decisions were made after 4 hours down stairs, Nate called him back to the apartment. 

“I’ve been looking at the information Alec was gathering for you. There are a collection of mothers and adoptive parents involved in trying to shut down this doctor.” “Eliot, this man has spent the last 40 years messing with the lives of babies.” Hardison added. “He went from just delivering babies to the maternity home and selling babies. Then he moved into hiring surrogates and other fertility issues for mega profits. His latest business is adopting out unused embryos. Ones that were supposed to be destroyed or those that were stolen from far away clinics.” “He’s shady, he’s hurt people in a dozen ways. We need to shut him down. We need to steal a baby broker.” 


	6. six

Eliot was listening to the plan when Sophie brought ‘Lisbeth into the room. “She heard you were here Eliot. You didn’t come to say hi when you arrived.” “That was very rude, Eliot.” The Fords’ daughter added. “I knew you were studying so I decided to cook first.” “Eliot’s right, if he had interrupted your classwork you would not return to it. You would have been right down there in the kitchen causing problems.” “I am not a problem, Mummy.” Replied the curly haired girl with the clear eyes of a knowing woman. Nate took his daughter in his arms, “Elizabeth Grace, you can stay but you cannot talk about anything you hear, do you understand.” “Yes sir. I just want to eat my lunch though so you can get back to your thratigizing.” Now that she had her adult front teeth, she was mastering her s sounds again but sometimes her tongue still tried to fill the once empty space. The light of her father’s life, she knew she was adored by the Leverage crew, extended family in Australia, and a contingent of transplanted Oklahomans. She took full advantage of them when she could. She settled down at the eating side of the island in the kitchen to eat with a book to read. 

“I don’t know if this is connected but someone took a few pot shots at Babe and me on our way home from the festivities last night.” Parker was instantly alert. “What? Where? How?” “There’s a chipped spot on her helmet and a few holes in her backpack. The special backpack I got her for Christmas.” Alec said, “I’ll follow you on the cameras and see when it happened.” Once again, the hacker was back on his computers. Parker wouldn’t let it go. “You have to stop riding that Ducati. You are too vulnerable.” “No, I’m not Parker.” Eliot responded. His voice raised like a brother arguing with his bratty little sister. She shot him some side eye. “Parker, I bought my leathers, the backpack and the helmets from the same people that custom make your climbing gear. They know our needs. They used top of the line materials. You trust them to keep you safe, I can trust them too.” Parker chewed on that as she chewed on the inside of her lower lip. It was true, Eliot seemed to trust more people now that Babe was part of his life. He was more relaxed and a lot less grumpy. “Got ‘em.” 

Hardison waved so everyone looked back to the wall of screens. “This is where the shots happened.” He was showing the muzzle flash at a corner two blocks from Eliot’s house. “I have the plate on the van that did it. It’s registered to Advantage Security and Protection. The company is owned by a bunch of shell corporations but at the end of the chain is Humbolt Business Service. The Chairman of the Board is Pedro Bell from Davenport, Iowa. It seems that ASAP has tried to take over a few accounts in Tulsa. I put a few surprises in Bell’s accounts. This should keep him busy for a while, long enough for us to deal with Dr. Pain first. But I think Babe should make that decision.” Alec reached for his cell phone when Eliot stopped him. “She didn’t sleep much last night. I made her promise to rest today. I’ll her about this when the time is right.” Sophie looked at Eliot with the same look Nate was giving him. Parker and ‘Lisbeth Grace were both scowling at him too. Alec said “Okay, I’ll keep the sofa open for you when she kicks your butt out.” Parker nodded in agreement. “You can sleep in the lower bunk in my room, Eliot.” ‘Lisbeth added, “But if you really make Aunt Babe mad, I may just move into her house to protect her ‘cause you hurt her heart.” She gave the hitter her sternest look. 

Nate stepped between his daughter and his friend. “Pumpkin, you don’t need worry about him, Mommy and I will keep him from causing any trouble with Aunt Babe. But while we’re doing that, I do think she might like it if we sent her, Ella and the boys with you to the cabin.” “Oh Daddy, do you promise?!” The child gave him a bright smile. “There’s a couple of quilts she needs to repair up there. It’s tadpole season and the new baby ducks on the lake will be swimming. Ella can’t swim. Do you think she would trust me to teach her? The dogs, daddy, she’ll bring the dogs. Oh please, can we call her now? I’m going to go pack.” Away she ran full of excitement and the energy of a tornado through a farm field. 

“Okay, now that we have a plan for the little one, Parker, Hardison, you two are going to have to work on building a family. Sophie, you’re going to be a competing adoption agency director. I’m going back to work for IYS investigating why the Vickerings are going out of state to adopt a child instead of working with the fertility clinic we recommended. Eliot, you’re going to have to go in stealth. I have a feeling this doctor is smart enough to follow his placements and knows who you are.” The conversations about background and other logistics went on for another 2 hours. Eliot felt his phone vibrate. “That’s Babe. I’m headed home. I get her and the family off to the cabin by this weekend. Tell ‘Lisbeth Grace, I’ll have Ella’s mom pick her up on the way out of town.” He waved bye to his friends, hustled out to the street and away he sped. 


	7. seven

Eliot pulled into the garage at the house he shared with his wife, an occasional wayward son and a batch of giggling little girls when the Leverage crew was on a job or their granddaughters wanted a sleep over with ‘Lisbeth Grace. Babe had something in the oven but when he called for her, he heard her in their bathroom. She was seated at the vanity incorporated between their sinks. She had her hair up and pulled back from her face severely. She was tweezing her nearly invisible eyebrows. She moved on to the pesky hairs under her chin and at the corners of her mouth. He loved to tease her about her facial hair. He wasn’t mean, just mentioning that she was always surprised when she found a new long black hair. “You didn’t see this when you and I made love last night?” She always opened with that statement. “No Babe, I was focused on other things. Just like you don’t mention my wild facial hair or nose hairs until we’re finished.” Yeah, but I remember, you don’t.” “I know, because I’m usually thinking about how I can keep you in bed next to me until we can start again and again.” “Well, it’s not me asking for Gatorade or orange juice in the middle of the night.” Eliot laughed at that statement. “Remember when we had a mini fridge as a nightstand in that little place in Oklahoma?” He would ask and reminiscing lead to kissing and touching most times. This time he added, “I like seeing your awesome ass walking down the hall especially when you’ve slipped into only my t-shirt.” She looked at him with a small smile. “Tell me darlin’ why did you rush off to the office this morning?”

He helped her up from her stool, checked the skin under the chin and jaw line with his lips and asked, “What’s in the oven?” There was a panicked look in her eyes as she pulled away and hustled to the kitchen. She pulled a lasagna from the oven and rolled her eyes. “Almost burnt the cheese again.” Eliot chuckled deep in his throat, a breathy laugh that most never heard. He pushed her toward the table. He dished up slices to cool while he poured drinks and dressed a salad. He served her the plate then said, “We have a case. I was thinking you could take the boys, ‘Lisbeth Grace and Ella to the cabin for the next few weeks. She mentioned something about quilts.” Babe was quiet for a while. He knew she was thinking of her calendar. “I don’t have anything coming up. I think the boys may be willing. Ella has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, but Jo should be happy to have her out of the house while they are redoing the kitchen.” She made a list of things to pack. Eliot noted what he would have to put in the trailer for her. After they cleaned the dishes, they made the phone calls to gather a traveling party. 

Their twins were willing to pack up their families and join their mom, brothers, niece and ‘Lisbeth Grace on the lake for the rest of the week. Eliot told the kids that he would be there for a few days then he needed to go check on some out-of-town accounts for Babe. She backed him up. They spent the rest of the night calling from other rooms, “did you pack..?” “yep” They fell into the bed near midnight. Babe turned to him, “What are you guys up to?” Eliot didn’t want to tell her. He had never lied about the jobs so he didn’t this time either. “We’re going after the doctor that took our babies from you. It’s so much worse. He’s running fertility scams now. He’s selling stolen embryos, sperm, and eggs. He’s running a surrogacy home now. Who knows how those women are treated.” Babe was quiet. “Good.” Was all she said before settling deeper into Eliot’s arms. It was nearly dawn before they slept. Eliot took a long time soothing his wife’s hurting heart with loving, words and even a few lyrics as they melted into each other over and over again. 

Once Eliot had his 90 minutes of sleep he left the bed to work out in the home gym. Babe wandered in later to work through the tai chi routine they enjoyed doing together. Showering took longer with the two of them in the stall. They were storing up the memories of making love like critters did for the winter. One final call came in to say that Jo and Ella were finished at the doctor and were headed to the cabin. Eliot took the portable sewing machine from the closet of Babe’s work room and pushed her out the door. He drove toward the cabin with Babe sitting in the middle of the bench seat. She played with the radio and his hair as they took the quiet back roads to the cabin on 1,000 acres of woodland. They talked and sang along with their favorite singers. Eliot loved long drives with just him and his woman. He looked down at her bare legs from the short cut offs she had on to the bright orange paint on her toenails. He had missed so much. He would spend the rest of his life making it up to her. She was teasing him about the fact that his time at the University of Oklahoma didn’t affect his choice of vehicle colors. “With this beast and the charger being orange, baby, you would think you went to Oklahoma State with me.” This was a long-time debate. Since she wanted to go into conservation and forestry in college, she went to the agriculture school where he attended the college where it was easier to live at home. When bedlam games were being played, the house was pretty rowdy with trash talk. He was proud of her double degree. 

Pulling up at the cabin, he saw lots of people on hand to settle the vacationers into the cabin, bunk house and the little suite over the storage building they used as a garage. Their boys followed their mom’s directions as they emptied the trailer. AJ, Joe and their daughter Ella would use the trailer as a home when they needed privacy. Dalton and Egan were in the bunk house with Carson and Kaylee’s sons. The twins’ girls would stay in the house with Grandma Babe, Ella and ‘Lisbeth Grace. At sundown, the families gathered at the fire pit to roast marshmallows and make s’mores. Eliot picked a guitar, and the group sang along when they felt like it. One by one sleepy kids were taken to bed. Then couples disappeared to sleeping quarters and the single boys doused the fire said good night to their moms and went to bed themselves. Eliot looked over the collection of travel trailers, tents, and little houses around the big cabin. “I love you Babe.” He said before he kissed her in the moonlight. They walked up to the big house, into the downstairs master suite and settled into bed. They talked. this was their “before a job” routine. They said everything they needed to say. They reminded each other of love and dreams. This was the only night Babe didn’t sleep. She had to spend every waking second with Eliot. She had to. She had lived too many years without him. This would bring him luck. He had to be safe. She needed him to be safe. 


End file.
